Marvel's Avengers Is Adding Lots of Additional Content to Counter Slow Sales

Marvel's Avengers has had a few issues right out of the gate, and though Square Enix and Crystal [...]

By Matthew Aguilar

Marvel's Avengers has had a few issues right out of the gate, and though Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have been busy patching the game and making updates, they've lost a number of players in the meantime who were craving new content. That's reflected in the sales of the game, which has sold around 3 million copies thus far, though after extensive development costs and a massive marketing campaign, that isn't enough to break even nonetheless start making a profit. During the recent Financial Results Briefing, Square Enix addressed the sales and their plan to help bring players back to the game, which President and Representative Director Yosuke Matsuda said involves releasing "ample additional content to grow our sales". You can find the full quote from the presentation below.

"The HD Games sub-segment posted an operating loss as initial sales of 'Marvel's Avengers' were lower than we had expected and unable to completely offset the amortization of the game's development costs. In the second half of the fiscal year ("2H"), we hope to make up for slow initial sales by offering ample additional content to grow our sales," Matsuda said.

During the Q&A the game was also addressed, including its affect on the HD Games sub-segment during Quarter 2.

"Absent factors associated with "Marvel's Avengers" the sub-segment would have been in the black. In addition to the amortization of that game's development costs, another significant factor associated with the title was the fact that we undertook a major advertising campaign at the time of its launch to make up for delays in our marketing efforts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a certain amount of development costs still to be amortized in 3Q, but we want to recoup it by growing our sales going forward," Matsuda said.

Matsuda was also asked if the sales were lower than expected and if the reasons were something they could have anticipated and done something about.

"We engaged in ample preparations ahead of the launch, but it is true that there were aspects in which we were wanting," Matsuda said. "We intend to leverage the lessons we learned from this experience in future game development efforts."

That content will start with Kate Bishop, which will launch next month, and hopefully we can get some of the other promised and teased characters and their story content as well sooner than later, which should help bring players back into the fold.

Marvel's Avengers is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC now.

What do you think needs to happen next to get more players back in the mix? Let us know what you think in the comments and you can always find me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things gaming.

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